Is This Love That I Feel?
by KonaJeshika
Summary: Hermione, I wanted to know if-" Ginny stopped and looked at them. "Um, Ron, why are you holding Hermione's knickers? Uh, well I can see I'm interrupting something, so I'll just leave, shall I?" They could hear her giggles as the door shut. HrR 6th year.
1. Prologue

To all: Details are currently being added. I've finally finished the prologue and the spell-check, aren't you proud of me? Haha, just kidding, but yes, I have the prologue finished and I would like to know what you think of it.   
  
Author: LionGirl, but just call me Jessie  
  
Rating: Mostly G. Possibly PG to PG-13 later on in the story.   
  
Summary: Mainly Hr/R. Takes place during the sixth year (for Hermione, Harry and Ron). Starts during the summer, and will continue throughout the school year.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and all related characters, items, etc. These belong to J.K. Rowling and her publishers along with W.B. Pictures. I do however own the plot and any original characters that I may make up.  
  
Author's Note: I already have a plot and a few extra chapters coming, so I should update pretty frequently. I have seven chapters up on my other sites, but I'm changing them a little bit before I post them up here. Thank you for even taking the time to read this, and I will have another post up soon!  
Another A/N: Tell me what you think! I don't want to do this for no reason! If you're going to tell me what's wrong, or what you don't like, go ahead. Just please don't completely flame me, that's just rude. Give constructive criticism! Thanks!

Is This Love That I Feel?

  
Prologue  
  
"Harry, we'll have you away from there as soon as we can," Mrs. Weasley whispered, hugging him again.  
  
"We'll see you soon, mate," said Ron anxiously, shaking Harry's hand.  
  
"Really soon, Harry," said Hermione earnestly. "We promise."  
  
Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around, and led the way out of the station toward the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.  
  
"Harry, wait!" Hermione yelled to Harry's back. He turned around to see her sprinting towards him.  
  
"What is it?" he asked worriedly.  
  
Hermione didn't answer. She simply wrapped her arms around his torso and gave him a long hug. She looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes.  
  
"Harry, I just wanted to tell you that everything is going to be just fine. You'll be fine. We'll be fine... Everything is going to be okay. I love you Harry, we all do; you know that. Just... Just feel better, and know that we're thinking of you, okay?"  
  
Harry didn't know what to say. He had never seen Hermione be so serious and compassionate at the same time. He just nodded his head and hugged her in return.  
  
Hermione pulled away. "Well, I better get back to the others. My mum and dad are probably wondering where I've gone. See you in a while Harry." She smiled. Before turning and running back to her parents and the Weasleys, Hermione gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek, leaving him standing there, speechless.  
  
"Where were you and what took you so long?" questioned Ron as Hermione returned to the group.  
  
"Oh, I just had to run and tell Harry something that I forgot to tell him before he left," Hermione replied quickly in one breath.  
  
Ron eyed her strangely but just shrugged it off. "Right."  
  
They went to catch up with the rest of the group, but still stayed behind them a few feet, so they could talk amongst themselves.  
  
"So, what did you tell Harry?" Ron asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Oh, um, well, I just told him that we're all there for him, and that we all care for him."  
  
"But he already knows that!"  
  
"Well, yes, I know that. I just felt that he needed to actually hear it directly from one of us."  
  
"Oh, okay," Ron said smartly, though he could not hide his bewildered face. They reached the entrance to the station and stopped.  
  
Ron leaned casually against one of the pillars that stood at the front of the station. Even though he was slouching, he still had to look down to look at Hermione's face. "So," he said somewhat uncomfortably, "Would you like to come to my house sometime over the holiday?"  
  
Hermione smiled. "Well, of course I would like to, Ron." She then rolled her eyes. "I've only been doing that for the past three or four years, now," she added sarcastically.  
  
"Shut up," Ron shot back playfully, though his ears were tinted red at the tips. "I just wanted to make sure so that I could tell mum whether or not you were coming." They both smiled and laughed a little, even if there wasn't really a point to it.  
  
"Ron, dear, come along now, we should get going!" Mrs. Weasley's voice called from the front of the building. Ron and Hermione looked over at them. Ron's dad had managed to get cars from the Ministry again (Cornelius Fudge had agreed to it grudgingly) and the family was packing their things in the trunk or waiting in the vehicles.  
  
Hermione's parents stood by Ron's. "They're right, Hermione, we ought to get going now, sweetie," her mother said in agreement.  
  
"All right, we'll be there in a moment," Hermione replied. She looked up at Ron. "Uh, so I guess this is goodbye then?" she inquired uncertainly.  
  
"Only for now," he responded with a lopsided grin.  
  
"But how do we know if we'll even see each other again?" Hermione said anxiously, fear showing in her eyes. "I mean, if Voldemort's," punctured by a wince from Ron, "after Harry, then he's after us too. For all we know, we could be next," she continued, her voice trembling. Her hands moved to grip Ron's. Ron swallowed tensely but squeezed her hands in return. He continued to gaze down at her, his frightened expression mirroring hers. Then she said something he had not expected. "For all I know, you could be next... and I-I don't know what I would do without you."  
  
Hermione locked her deep brown eyes with Ron's as a silent tear rolled down her cheek.  
  
"Hermione..." Ron didn't know what to say. His expression was serious, caring, concerned, and most of all, loving. His eyes deepened with worry. Hermione was right; any of them could be next, and it terrified him as well. He didn't have much time to ponder on it, though, as Hermione abruptly wrapped her arms around him. His eyes widened at this unexpected gesture and he patted her on the back very nervously (and somewhat jerkily because of it).  
  
"Come on kids!" they heard their fathers shout in unison.  
  
Hermione suddenly seemed to come to her senses and stepped away from Ron.  
  
"Sorry," she said embarrassedly. "Well, they're right. We better go now."  
  
"Okay," said Ron with a grin, hoping to cheer her up. "It won't be long before we see each other, I promise." His voice was more confident as he said this.  
  
"You're right. I'm being silly," she beamed a pearly white smile back at him, clearly cheered up already. They began to walk outside where Ron's family was packing themselves into the car, and Hermione's parents were sitting in their vehicle waiting.  
  
"See you in a couple of weeks, or days, or... whatever, sometime soon!" Ron said to her merrily.  
  
Hermione laughed at Ron for being able to change his mood so quickly. She, however, was still a little uneasy, but tried to wipe the feeling away. "Yes, yes, I'll see you soon."  
  
They turned around and were both were about to walk to their cars when Hermione suddenly called out Ron's name.  
  
"Yes?" he questioned as he turned to look at her. He was met by Hermione's lips on the corner of his mouth.  
  
"I'll miss you," Hermione said quietly. Quickly, she turned away and started walking to her car, but not before shouting at him playfully, "And I expect you to miss me too!" She laughed lightly as she got into her parent's car.  
  
"It's about bloody time," her parents said.  
  
Ron was standing and staring at Hermione as she ran back to her car. His mouth was in a sort of open-mouthed grin as he raised his hand to touch the spot where she had kissed him. Then it hit him. Hermione had kissed him. It was debatable as to how well his brain would process this information; especially now that it was moving extra slow from shock.  
  
"God damn it, Ron, hurry up!" George shouted out of the car window. Ron was snapped back into reality as he tore over to the car.  
  
"It's about bloody time," was heard from every occupant when he finally entered the automobile.  
  
Ron just grinned and sunk into silent thoughts the rest of the ride home.


	2. The Invitation

Chapter 1: The Invitation

It was a beautiful Monday morning where fifteen-year-old Hermione Granger lived; the trees were swaying in the wind, and the sun was shining down upon the yellow grass. It was a wonderful day to just lie around and do nothing, which was Hermione's exact intention. It had been exactly one week since the end of term, and all of the events of the past year were still fresh in her mind.

Bored out of her mind from staring at the pasty white ceiling, Hermione figured she had to do something before her brain decided to shut off completely. She slowly sat up and looked out the window. A tall willow tree sat in front of her window, its bright green leaves flowing about in the breeze. Hermione had come to appreciate this tree more in the past few years because it reminded her of the deadly willow tree that was located at Hogwarts. Her thoughts were still on Hogwarts as she stood up and walked over to the bookshelf on the other side of the room. Scanning the shelves, she took down her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Hermione flipped through the pages incoherently, not really reading it, just looking at the illustrations.

Hermione was suddenly brought back to her senses by a light tapping at her window. Yes, finally! A letter from Ron, I've been waiting for forever, she said to herself. It hadn't been forever, just a day or two, but it felt like so much longer. She quickly untied the letter from Pig's leg an unfolded it as fast as possible and began reading Ron's untidy scrawl.

Hermione,

How are you? Everything's okay here, but dad is totally stressed out. Apparently the Ministry's having a little trouble fixing all of the stuff that was damaged, and returning back to business as usual. I just asked mum and she said that you could come over anytime you'd like, just tell us when it would be a good time to come and get you. Please come as soon as possible, the family's driving me nuts! Harry will be coming over in a couple of weeks, but I don't know if I can wait that long without one of you two here. Well I have to go, mum's having a fit that I haven't set the table for dinner yet, so I'll talk to you later. Hopefully I'll see you soon!

Ron

She sighed happily as she finished reading the letter. Then she suddenly snickered as she found a P.S.

P.S. Miss me yet?

She wondered if he missed her, just like she told him to. It was quite humorous to her, the way Hermione had said goodbye to him; she knew that it had shocked him. To be truthful, it had shocked her as well. It was quite startling that Hermione would do something as impulsive as to kiss someone, and for really no reason at that-In fact, it was one of the most un-Hermione-like things to do. She couldn't figure it out, so didn't linger on the thought.

Nevertheless, Hermione had kept her promise that she would miss Ron. She missed Harry too, of course. In fact she knew him better than Ron. If truth be told, she could usually tell about how Harry was feeling just by looking at him, or listening to him talk. Ron though, was very difficult to tell how he felt, and very, very hard to agree with; there was just some reason why he and Hermione kept nagging each other, though Hermione couldn't explain it. Maybe it was just with all that had happened at the Ministry that somehow made her feel more connected with Ron, because she did miss him more than usual this summer. That probably wasn't it, as Harry was there too, along with three other people. She didn't know, and she couldn't figure it out, it just...was.

She picked out her departure day as she shook the confusing thoughts out of her mind. "Mum," Hermione yelled down the hallway, "I'm going to Ron's house on Thursday." She didn't wait for her mother's reply to write back to him.

Ron,

I'm fairly well. It sounds hectic at your house, so I'll come to keep you company. I know it must be pretty unnerving having to live with so many people with no one to really talk to. You can pick me up at one o'clock on Thursday; I should be ready by then. See you very soon!

Love Always,

Hermione

She folded the letter and tied it to the owl's leg and sent him off. Thank God she would finally be able to go and see her best friends, instead of lying around in her pajamas all day doing nothing. And for some reason, she had a tingling sensation in her stomach that something new and different would happen during her visit this year.

It was about 8:00 A.M. on Thursday morning and Hermione was waiting patiently in the family room for Ron to arrive. Her bags had been packed for more than two days, and since it would be four or five hours until the Weasleys came to pick her up, she decided to occupy herself with cartoons. People said it was childish to watch cartoons at the age of 16 but why should she care? There was just something about a talking dog named Scooby Doo or a sponge that lived in the sea named Spongebob Squarepants that was just so appealing and entertaining to give up because people thought it was for children. So she watched the crime solving dog and the patty-flipping sponge until her mother called her for lunch.

She didn't eat much, since she was so excited. Mrs. Granger was almost to the point of shoving the food into her mouth; apparently she had gotten the idea that Hermione was trying to make herself skinnier, but stopped when they heard a clunking sound coming from the family room.

"They're here!" Hermione almost shouted with excitement. She ran into the room and nearly suffocated an ash covered Ron as she engulfed him in a bear hug.

"Hermione, I'm glad to see you too, but could you like-let go of me?" Ron asked with effort, as Hermione loosened her grip around his neck and dropped a few inches to the floor.

"Oh, Ron, I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so happy to see you!" Hermione said joyfully as she hugged Ron again, but with less force.

Ron almost looked surprised. "Are you really that happy to see me?" he questioned her as she clung on to him.

"Of course I am, what kind of a question is that? What, are you not happy to see me?" Hermione said pretending to sound abashed as she faked a hurt look on her face.

"I'm really very sorry to ruin your reunion," a voice said teasingly from near the fireplace.

"-But we should really be on our way back," finished an almost identical voice.

"Oh, hello George, hello Fred," Hermione said to the twins. She should have known that Ron wouldn't be by himself, and wondered why she hadn't noticed them before. "Well I guess you're right," she said as she walked towards her mother and father, "I'll see you at Christmas. I love you, and I'll write you at least once a week, like I always do. See you later."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger hugged her then she walked towards the fireplace and waved at them. Her mother waved back with tears in her eyes, as though she was moving far away. But a split second later the scene changed and she was standing in the fireplace of the burrow.


	3. The Obvious Idea

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone that has replied so far! I really appreciate it! I know that this chapter is pretty short... possibly even pointless now that I think of it, but my next few chapters are a lot longer (I'm already up to chapter 11. I just don't post as often on here because it's so complicated). But maybe as soon as I get another reply or two I'll put up chapter 3.

Chapter 2: The Obvious Idea

Hermione took in her surroundings. It wasn't that she hadn't seen them before, because she had many times, it was just that she had missed them so much since her last visit here. The Burrow felt like a second home to her, and that was really important as the only other place she felt that way about was her Grandma and Grandpa Granger's house.

A pair of arms reached out and dragged her in for a bone-breaking hug. "Oh, Hermione, it's so wonderful to see you dear! I was hoping that you'd be able to come," said the some-what shrill voice that Hermione recognized as Mrs. Weasley's. Hermione stepped away from her smiling.

"It's nice to finally be here! I'm so excited; it feels like so long since I was last here. Oh my God! Ginny you look great," Hermione exclaimed as she turned to the youngest red-head. Her hair was thicker and grew a little past her shoulder, and she was wearing a form-fitting pink tank top with light blue kapris.

"Do I really?" Ginny asked excitedly, gazing at herself in a mirror that hung in the kitchen. "I wasn't sure how it looked, but I liked it. Do you think Dean will?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

Ginny had changed so much the past few years, now she was into makeup, clothes, and boys, which she hadn't been too interested in before. Her latest boyfriend was Dean Thomas and Ginny was completely infatuated with him. Ron still hadn't gotten used to it, but he was starting to warm up to the idea a little more day by day. Although Ginny had a boyfriend already, she was still quite the flirt.

"He'll love it. So when exactly does Harry get here?" she asked as Ron, Fred, and George appeared in the fireplace.

"Umm, two and a half weeks I believe, possibly a bit longer," he responded. God it was wonderful to hear his voice again, she thought, to see his handsome face again. Wait! Did I just say Ron was handsome? Hermione couldn't help but stare at him. "What? Hermione, why are you staring at me like that?" Ron said as Hermione snapped to attention.

"Oh, umm, I was just noticing that you're even taller since we last saw each other," she lied quickly. At this comment she realized that he had grown ('Man he's going to be a giant,' she thought to herself), and when she looked back at him she saw that his face was even redder. Was it the comment about him being taller? No, definitely not. It was unbelievable, was she making Ron Weasley blush by just looking at him?

Mrs. Weasley was staring at the two unblinkingly, noting the clouded look in Hermione's eyes and the red tint in Ron's face.

"Well, Ron why don't you help Hermione with her bags up to her room?" Mrs. Weasley suggested.

"Of course," Ron said, realizing the obviousness of this idea.

__


	4. What's Beauteous?

Hmm... Well, I see that no one else has replied yet... Oh, well. The key to getting reviews is to post more, so here it is. (I'll post more as soon as I get at least two more replies or on Friday... Whichever comes first, so please leave me a review!)

Chapter 3: What's Beauteous?

Ron led Hermione up the stairs, carrying her heavier items. "So what have you been doing these past couple of weeks? he inquired.

"Absolutely..... nothing! Isn't it exciting?" Hermione replied excitedly, with obvious sarcasm in her voice.

Ron smiled. "Same here."

For a moment they just stood there looking at each other, smiling. Finally, Hermione broke the silence. "So, which room will I be staying in?"

"Percy's old room. Mum's turned it into a guest room after Percy cleared his stuff out. She was depressed before, but now with all his stuff gone, she seems more..... cheery. Think it might be because all the bad memories aren't really here now that the room has been redone. 'Course, she doesn't like the fact that she's in a fight with one of her children, but still. 'Least she's in a better mood for once. It's pretty nice in there, I think you'll like it," Ron finished as they reached Percy's deserted room. They dumped the luggage on the bed and the floor, depending on the item's size.

Hermione looked around the room at the new styling. It was definitely different from when Percy was here. When he had been living there, the room was very plain, just bits of parchment and his schoolbooks lying about. Nothing very interesting. But now the room had a certain feeling to it, a warm, cheery feeling. Hermione enjoyed it very much, but she decided it would possibly need some changes if she was to be staying here for the rest of the holiday

It had been a couple of minutes until Ron finally sat up and spoke. "Damn that was heavy! What in Merlin's name do you have in there?"

Hermione smirked. "Honestly, Ron. Do you really think I wouldn't bring my normal belongings and my school things with me when I'm going to be here for so long?" she replied smartly.

Ron just glared at her with a look that told her that he didn't much appreciate her comment.

"What," said Hermione, starting to put on a babyish tone, "was the wittle bags too heavy for poor wittle Ronnikins?" She giggled.

Ron's glare became more intense and Hermione's smile and chuckles faded slightly. The look on Ron's face was very serious and to Hermione, it was actually almost scary.

"You're dead Granger," he said threateningly.

Hermione was shocked by this comment and she didn't know what to say. But then she realized something. "Oh, really?" she said somewhat flatly. Still with her serious voice she said, "Well, I guess you'll have to catch me first then, won't you?" Then she jumped off the bed and bounded into the hallway and down the stairs.

She had realized that Ron had obviously only been joking, but she didn't feel that she would make it too easy for Ron to "kill" her, as he put it. Usually in a situation of that sort he would tickle her until she nearly wet herself or something of the sort and Hermione didn't feel much like having to change today.

As she heard Ron's running steps behind her she picked up her speed a little bit, it was a long way down the stairs seeing as they were a few floors up. She laughed as she peered around her shoulder and saw Ron coming after her with his competitive grin on his face. When Hermione hit the landing, she grabbed the post and swung herself off of the steps and landed in the kitchen. She then ran out of the door into the back yard, the door swinging shut behind her. She hid in the flowerbed right next to the house and waited for Ron to come out. Ron stepped out of the house very quietly, as if trying to sneak up on Hermione.

"As if he could actually sneak up on me," Hermione thought to herself.

He peered around in confusion, looking for Hermione. She got to her feet very quietly, and silently tip-toed over to Ron, whose back was turned on her. "Gotch'ya!" she said as she began to tickle Ron in the sides.

Ron jumped in surprise and turned to face her, laughing as her fingers titillated his sides. "You little sneak," Ron said with difficulty as he was laughing so hard from the tickling. Then, he seemed to regain his wits and turned on Hermione, tickling her in return.

Hermione screamed in playful surprise. They were both becoming so weak in the sides and ribs that they fell to the ground. There they lay side by side, panting and out of breath. Ron smiled as he looked into they sky. It was a very beautiful night.

There had just been rain early that morning and the left over clouds still hung around in the sky without a purpose. The setting sun cast an array of colors across the evening sky, with pinks and purples and blues, all blending together to make one of the prettiest sights that either of them had ever seen.

"It's quite a nice night, isn't it?" commented Ron, breaking the peaceful silence. He rolled on his side to look at Hermione.

"Yes, it's beauteous out," she replied. At the questioning look on Ron's face, she explained, "Beauteous is a word that my grandpa and mom always use. I absolutely love that word; it can sum up so many things in life. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," said Ron looking at Hermione adoringly," I know exactly what you mean."

Hermione looked up at him when he had put the emphasis on the word exactly, because she noticed he seemed to be looking somewhat dazed as he said it. She looked up into his soft amber eyes and smiled bashfully. "Was he talking about me?" she wondered silently to herself, somewhat pleased by the thought.

"Ron, w-" Hermione was suddenly cut off by the sound of Mrs. Weasley calling them inside the house for dinner.

"Come along now, dears," Hermione heard the voice calling from a spot that seemed to be quite close by. Ron instantly rolled off of Hermione. He got up and lightly brushed himself off. Hermione was a bit embarrassed about what had just happened, but she tried not to show it when Ron offered her his hand to help her up. They walked almost silently to the house, not really saying much, being that they really didn't know what to say.


	5. Getting Mentally Smacked

Yay! Seven replies and it hasn't even been up for a day! Thank you all for reviewing, I really appreciate it! (Hey... 8/10... Not too bad :) ) And since I got so many replies, I have the next chapter. I wrote this as a filler (I think it was before I went on vacation), so it's really quite short and pointless. My next one though... Is... Better. Yeah. So I guess I'll post that in just a little while since this one's so short! :-D

Chapter 4: Getting Mentally Smacked

They returned to the house quite silently, not feeling the need to mention what had happened back there. Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway waiting for them to arrive.

"Come along now dears," she said somewhat huffily. "I need you two to set the table for me. We're eating in the dining room tonight."

Ron and Hermione went about setting plates, cups, napkins, and utensils about the table, Hermione correcting Ron's mistakes.

"Why do you keep moving the forks and spoons?" Ron asked her exasperatedly.

"Because you're not doing it right. The forks don't go here," she picked up a fork, "they go here." She set it back down on the other side of the plate.

"What's the difference, and why does it even matter?"

Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "Why? Because it's proper dining etiquette, that's why. You don't want to look like a total barbarian, do you?

"I don't really think having my forks and spoons in the wrong place is going to make me look barbaric, Hermione," Ron retorted.

Hermione just sighed and they went back to setting the places, Hermione fixing Ron's mistakes along the way.

When the table was set and dinner was ready everyone came down for dinner. Sitting on either side of Hermione was Ginny and Ron, the twins sat across from her, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat at either end of the table. They had a pleasant dinner, talking over many things, such as how their summer was going, how work was, just normal things you would talk about to your family.

After dinner was over, they all sat in the family room; Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen cleaning up, Mr. Weasley was reading a book, Fred and George were making plans for their shop (which was very successful), Ron and Ginny were playing wizard's chess and Hermione was just sitting comfortably on the couch, looking into the fire. Hermione felt so relaxed, just sitting on the comfy couch, gazing into the flickering flames, that she could've fallen asleep. She didn't know when she stopped staring at the fire and started staring at Ron; his face was contorted with joy as he won a game of wizard's chess against Ginny. He whooped in joy as Ginny let out a sigh of defeat.

They soon started another game. Hermione smiled. Ron was so cute when he was concentrating, with his face all focused and serious. Wait! She had just called Ron cute... Gross!... Erm... Kind of. She mentally smacked herself. Just stop, stop yourself! she screamed in her head. Next time that happened, she would have to mentally punch herself.


	6. An Awkward Moment

Thanks again! And yes, I know the last one was short, it was a filler, a lot of this was pre-written, I've had it up on other sites for quite awhile. Heh... that sounds like the same kind of review I would leave, Poky... :-P And yeah, I know it probably sounds pretty American-ish, but I am American, so ya know. It's hard to write it British-...ish when I don't really know a lot of what they talk like, if you get my drift. But I'm working on it (thank you for the tip Cassandra!). Oh and sorry, Polaris... You'll have to wait for a while for your ACTION! ::heehee::

Chapter 5: An awkward Moment... Fixed?

A few days passed pleasantly. The weather was perfect, bright, sunny, and warm. The mood was playful and excited. It was a typical summer vacation. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all spent their time lazing about and playing games, even Fred and George joined in occasionally.

Ron, already 16 years old, was allowed to use magic, and was using it to his advantage. Hermione cursed herself for being born in September. Why couldn't she have been born just a month or two earlier? She only wanted it to get back at Ron for all the pranks he kept playing on her and Ginny. Oh well, she thought, it would only be about a month until they returned to Hogwarts, where she would be able to use all the magic she wanted.

The three teens had just got done playing a very exhausting game of something like tag, and they collapsed breathlessly on the grass. Ron had felt it necessary to give Ginny bright blue hair, and Hermione got purple dreadlocks. This had resulted in the two girls chasing Ron, tackling him, and kept him pinned to the ground until he turned their hair back to normal. Although it was quite terrifying to have purple dreadlocks for awhile, it was actually fun.

As they lay there on the ground, Hermione realized that she had still not unpacked. If she was going to be here for a month, she figured she better get to that fairly quickly. She jumped to her feet and began to walk toward the house.

"Where're you going?" Ron shouted after her.

"I still need to unpack," she replied.

"I'll help you if you like," he offered. At a nod from Hermione, he got to his feet too. "You want to help too, Gin?"

Ginny shook her head. "No thanks. I've still got to finish writing my letter to Dean."

Ron and Hermione made their way up to her room. As they reached the landing, Hermione opened the door and stepped inside. She remembered that she still needed to make the needed changes to the room.

She stepped over to her bigger suitcase, which was already unzipped and opened it up.

Ron stood there in the doorway, feeling kind of pointless. "Um, what should I do?" he asked Hermione.

"Be useful and start unpacking this," she said with a smile as she pointed to the trunk next to the one she was unpacking. Ron walked over and lifted the top of the trunk. They began putting things into the closet and drawers.

"So, how're you enjoying your stay here so far?" he asked, searching for any means of conversation.

"Oh, I'm having a wonderful time. I missed you so much before I left to come here. I know it's strange, and rather silly at that, but even though it'd only been a few days since I had seen you..." Hermione drifted off.

"So you missed me?" Ron said. He had a smirk on his face.

Hermione felt herself go pink around the ears. "Yes, I did. You are my best friend after all. And I am going to assume that you did as I said and missed me too?"

It was Ron's chance to go pink around the ears. "Well, I... Maybe a little-" he was cut off by Ginny barging in through the door.

"Hermione, I wanted to know if-" Ginny stopped and looked at them. "Um, Ron, why are you holding Hermione's knickers?" Ron looked down at his hands and found that he was in fact, holding Hermione's underpants. "Uh, well I can see I'm interrupting something, so I'll just come back later, shall I?" She stepped out of the room and closed the doors. Ron and Hermione could hear her giggle outside.

Ron immediately went cherry-red and dropped the undergarments. "Uh... I... uh.... well, um...." What was he supposed to say? Was there anything that could fix this? He had just been holding Hermione's underwear. He chanced a glance over at Hermione she was just as red, if not redder. What was she so embarrassed about, he wondered. After all, it was him that had been holding the underwear.

"Yes, so shall I just go now?" Ron said, still embarrassed.

"No, it's quite okay... I'll just take these shall I?" said Hermione, taking the knickers from the trunk and placing them in the top drawer. She smiled at him shyly, and though she still looked embarrassed, she looked as though she really wanted to laugh. He smiled back. An awkward moment fixed! Maybe his life didn't suck as bad as he thought.

As embarrassing as that moment had been, Hermione didn't want to make it any worse by telling Ron to go away when all he was doing was trying to help. It was easy to tell that Ron had been thoroughly embarrassed by it as well. So rather than make him go away, she had him stay and continue helping her, after she had made sure that all of her personals were put away.

They had finished unpacking and went downstairs together for dinner where Ginny sent them many teasing looks across the table.

Even though Hermione had told Ron that it had been perfectly all right, Ginny would still make occasional comments that would have Ron blushing like a school-girl. He would then mumble something about having to go do chores, and quickly stalk off. Hermione would then send Ginny an angry look. "What?" Ginny would say innocently, as though she hadn't meant anything by it, but the smirk would still be there to indicate her satisfaction in making her brother flustered. Hermione would just shake her head and roll her eyes in response.


	7. Doing Laundry

Okay, here's chapter six. This may be it for about a week because I'm going up to Oregon until Friday. If I have time, I'll post chapter 7 before I leave for the airport tomorrow. And since this is a quite short chapter, I'll try my best to get on before I go. (This chapter may also have some editing later on, btw.) Thanks for the suggestions, Poky, they sound hilarious. I'm going to the library today, so I'll check and see if they have them. :) Oh, and Carrie... I thought so, but I wasn't sure. I asked my friend and she said that it was sixteen. So that's why it says 16, rather than 17. I'll fix that as soon as possible.

Chapter 6: Doing Laundry

"Ron, dear, could you go out and fetch the clothes off the line?" Mrs. Weasley asked of her son as she stood at the sink washing the dishes. It had been a few days since the last incident, and Ron had at least tried to erase the memory from his mind.

"Sure, mum. Where's the basket?" he replied, glad for anything to do. Hermione was in the shower and he was bored out of his mind. Ron wondered if girls always took this long in the washroom- he imagined that the water bill would have to be horrendous if they did.

"It's right outside the backdoor."

"M'kay," Ron mumbled somewhat incoherently as he walked out the back door. He grabbed the basket and walked over to the clothes line and began taking down various articles of clothing and putting them in the basket.

He groaned when he came to one of Ginny's bras. Half of it was completely shredded; something must've gotten a hold of it while nobody was looking. Although he knew that Ginny would be furious beyond belief, and she would blame him for it, he just continued collecting the laundry.

Ron went inside and sat the basket down on the kitchen table. "Mum," he whined, "Something got at Ginny's bra." He held up the shredded undergarment to show his mother. Mrs. Weasley turned around to look. At that exact same moment Ginny walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, mum," said Ginny brightly, "Need any help with those-" she stopped as she saw Ron. She raised her eyebrows. "Ron, why are you holding Hermione's bra? And what- have you been chewing on it or something?" Ginny stopped to shake her head as Ron turned a nasty greenish-red color. "You just can't seem to stay out of Hermione's undergarments, can you?" she asked with a smirk.

Mrs. Weasley was about to ask what she meant when Hermione walked into the room. She was wearing only a bathrobe, and had clearly only just gotten out of the shower.

"Hey, Mrs. Weasley, are my clothes dry yet?" Hermione questioned her pleasantly.


	8. A Trip to Diagon Alley

Ah, no time for long notes now. I have to be ready to go in about 15 minutes, so I'm really pushing it at the moment. This chapter will be edited a bit also, later on, but there's no time for that now. I'll post the next chapter when I get back!

Chapter 7: A Trip to Diagon Alley  
  
"Mrs. Weasley, I can't- Really."  
  
"Come now, dear, I insist."  
  
Hermione heaved a sigh. "Fine." She took the currency from Mrs. Weasley and put it into her purse. Molly had insisted on giving Hermione money for her damaged bra, and suggested that she and Ron go to Diagon Alley to buy a new one, or whatever else she wished to do with the money. "Ron," Hermione yelled up the stairs, "get down here!"  
  
A few moments later, Ron trudged down the stairs rubbing his eyes. "What's up?" he questioned sleepily. It was clear that he had just woken up.  
  
"You and Hermione will be going to Diagon Alley today," Mrs. Weasley informed him. "I thought that the two of you should get out of the house for a day; you're probably sick of being cooped up in this old house." It wasn't true; they weren't tired of the house and they were constantly outside. But they figured that it would be fun to get out of the house for the first time that summer. "I think that the two of you should wait to buy your school things, we'll go shopping later with Harry and Ginny. So get ready and you two go and have fun."  
  
"Sounds like f-fu-fun," said Ron, his mouth stretching wide into a yawn. He and Hermione went up to their rooms to change. Fifteen minutes later they both stood in the kitchen, ready to go. Ron wore his usual jeans and a green t-shirt. Hermione wore a pair of jean shorts with a purple shirt.  
  
"So, will we be getting there by floo?" Ron asked Hermione.  
  
"No, genius, we're going to... fly... there," she spoke the last two words slowly. In the muggle world, it would've been a great retort, but it wasn't so smart in the wizarding world. "Umm, yeah, we're going by floo," Hermione said, trying to shake off her stupid comment.  
  
"Right." Ron smiled and grabbed a fistful of floo powder. He threw it into the hearth and shouted the words, "DIAGON ALLEY," very clearly. He then stepped into the flames and disappeared. Hermione did the same and stepped cautiously into the swirling emerald green flames.   
  
Hermione knew to close her eyes and keep her limbs tucked tightly to her body while traveling via the floo network. If ones arm were sticking out, there would be a great chance that by the time that you got to your destination, it wouldn't be there. Ever since her first time using the floo, she had kept her eyes closed. On that first ride to Diagon Alley with the Weasleys, she had had her eyes open, and regretted it immediately. Once the ride started, it was beyond her power to close them, and by the time the ride was over, she was about to vomit. Luckily she didn't, but the rest of the day was spent with a tremendous headache. Needless to say, Hermione's eyes were closed on the ride back.   
  
Suddenly, Hermione's feet hit solid ground and she began to tumble forward. She prepared herself for cold stone to make contact with her face, but the brick floor never came. Slowly, Hermione opened one eye, then the other. Holding her in his arms was Ron. He had caught her before she could fall to the ground and was grinning at her.  
  
Hermione slowly balanced herself, getting used to the uneven walkway. Bit by bit the spinning in her head was lessening and Hermione was able to stand on her own without Ron's arm for support. "Thanks," she expressed her gratitude.   
  
"No problem. I knew that you'd end up face first into the pavement if I didn't catch you," Ron joked.  
  
"Ha ha," Hermione said sarcastically. She looked at Ron. "Oh, you've got a bit of ash on your face there." She pointed at a large spot of soot on his cheek. "I'll get it for you." Hermione raised her hand and began to rub at the black spot vigorously. "There, now that's better." They shared an uncomfortable smile before turning to walk down the crowded street.  
  
"So where should we go first?"   
  
"How about Flourish and Blotts?"   
  
"Why?" Ron whined.  
  
"Because I would like to see if they have any new books in stock. Now stop complaining or else we won't go to Quality Quidditch Supplies."  
  
Ron stopped his whining immediately. "You're a very persuasive person, did you know that?" Hermione just smiled and kept walking.  
  
After they had visited the bookshop (where Hermione had bought a copy of Charms for Every Occasion: What Spells Can You Use For That Special Event?), they moved on to go to the Quidditch supply store. It took them half an hour before Hermione could finally pull Ron out of the shop, empty-handed and sullen.  
  
"You have money, don't you? Hermione asked Ron.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well why didn't you buy anything, then?"  
  
"I didn't buy anything because," Ron paused to think of the right words, "Because I'm saving up for something."  
  
"What are you saving up for?"  
  
"Nothing that concerns you."  
  
"Come on, you can tell me."  
  
"I know I can, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to."  
  
"Please Ron? Please, please, please?"  
  
"NO! Just give it up, will you?"  
  
"I wouldn't have to give it up if you'd just-"  
  
"Hermione!" Ron and Hermione both turned around when a female's voice had called out her name. Hermione smiled when she recognized whom it was, but Ron stood looking about stupidly, wondering who had yelled at Hermione. Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and led him over to a girl standing outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. She was a fairly tall girl, somewhere at about five and a half feet tall, perhaps a few inches more. She had hazel-green eyes and thick strawberry blonde hair that fell halfway down her back in curls and waves. Her age appeared to be around seventeen, at least judging by her height.  
  
"Hey, Jessica," Hermione greeted the girl.  
  
"Hello Hermione, Ron," Ron was startled when he heard the girl say his name. She did look quite familiar, but as far as Ron could remember, he had never met her. "How are you two doing today?"  
  
"Quite good. And yourself?" Hermione answered.  
  
"Pretty well. What brings you to Diagon Alley on such a wondrous day?"  
  
"Well, Ron's mum wanted the two of us to get out of the house and come here. So we've just been hanging out and browsing through the shops. Why are you here?"  
  
"To be truthful, I don't know," Jessica replied. "I got a letter from Professor McGonagall saying to be here at three o'clock this afternoon. She said that either she or Professor Dumbledore would meet me at the Leaky Cauldron, but didn't say why. She also told me to bring my parents-they're both waiting at the Leaky Cauldron. I'm a little nervous actually. But I think she might be meeting me to tell me that I've made Head Girl!"  
  
"Oh, Jessica, that's wonderful!" Hermione shouted in glee.  
  
"Yeah, but I'm just hoping that it's nothing bad. Anyways, I've got some money to burn. Would either of you like an ice cream?" she offered them.  
  
"Yeah," Ron spoke for the first time in the past few minutes. Jessica laughed at Ron's behavior- Boys.   
  
"Okay then, what do you want?"  
  
A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting happily on a bench outside of the parlor, eating their frozen treats.  
  
"Thank you," Hermione thanked Jessica. When Ron only nodded, Hermione elbowed him hard in the side.  
  
"Owe! What?" Ron looked at Hermione with an angry and questioning look. "Oh, yeah-Thanks!"  
  
Jessica just laughed again. "It was nothing. I babysat last night and I just wanted something to burn my money on. Oh crap!" She was looking at her watch. "It's almost three! I've got to go, I'll see you two at Hogwarts," she called to them as she jumped off the bench and ran down the packed street.  
  
Ron was still staring at the spot where they had lost sight of her when he said, "Who exactly was that?"  
  
"Jessica Firehart."  
  
"Oh. Okay. So... Who is she?"  
  
"She's a seventh year Gryffindor, very advanced."  
  
"Does that mean she's seventeen? What makes her so advanced?"   
  
"What's with all the questions?" Hermione asked exasperatedly. "Does Ronald have a crush?" she teased.  
  
Ron's cheeks were tinted pink. "No, I'm only curious. She looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out who exactly she was. You still didn't answer my last question though."  
  
"No, she's not seventeen." Hermione paused. "She just turned sixteen at the beginning of this month."  
  
"What?" Ron nearly choked on his ice cream.  
  
"She should be in our year, but she started a year early because she was so advanced. Don't ask me how, because I don't know. But I do know that there are only a few other witches and wizards that have made it into Hogwarts earlier than their supposed to. She's a prefect too; you probably recognize her from some of the meetings." Ron's mouth was gaping. "I just wonder what Dumbledore wants to talk to her about," Hermione said inquisitively. "I mean, I do think that she's going to get Head Girl, but it's really strange for Dumbledore to tell them that in person, isn't it?"  
  
"Well," said Ron, "Maybe because she's advanced, there are special circumstances or something."  
  
"I don't know. It's just a bit peculiar."  
  
Ron just shrugged his shoulders as he finished his ice cream.


	9. The Meeting

A/N: Hello, one and all!!! I am so sorry that it took me as long as it did to get this chapter up! I have had a pretty busy past few weeks. Two trips to and from Oregon, a trip to and from Nebraska, and school starting all just kind of caught up with me. So yeah. Poky, thank you soooo much for referring those Georgia Nicolson books! They were freaking hilarious--I absolutely loved them! And they really do help with the whole British-talk type stuff. So I will try to... erm... British-ify my fic later when I get a chance (All of the chapters so far are pre-written, remember that. And I change a lot of the stuff when I post it on here, too, so you get the most updated and accurate version of the story... Don'tchya feel special? Laughs). I'll post my next chapter (which I believe all of you will really like) as soon as I get a few reviews. I'm not going to make any outrageous requests, just two or three revs is fine with me. :) Thank you all for reading and waiting so long for this chapter!!! (Just fyi, in case you didn't spot it in the last chapter, Jessica is a Gryffindor. Therefore Prof. McGonagall is her head of house. That's why McGonagall would be meeting her, just in case anyone was wondering.)

Jessie :-D

Chapter 8: The Meeting

Jessica just laughed again. "It was nothing. I babysat last night and I just wanted something to burn my money on. Oh crap!" She was looking at her watch. "It's almost three! I've got to go, I'll see you two at Hogwarts," she called to them as she jumped off the bench and ran down the packed street.

She cried out as she stumbled into a tall redheaded man and fell backwards. "Owe," she whimpered when her bottom made contact with the ground.

"God, I'm sorry! Here, let me help you up," said the voice of the man she had just ran into. Jessica opened her eyes and looked up at the man, whom was holding out his hand for her to take. It was George Weasley. At a glance towards the closest shop, she saw that the sign above it read "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." She accepted his hand and he helped her to her feet.

"Thank you, George," Jessica said kindly to him, rubbing her sore backside.

"No problem, Jess. So tell me, why the rush?"

"I'm on my way to an important meeting with McGonagall and Dumbledore."

"Oh, I bet you've gotten Head Girl, haven't you?" George teased.

"I don't know that's what I'm going to go find out."

"Well, if you do get it, don't be like Perfect Percy the Prefect. I'm not sure if you'd still be the same Jessie that I know and love."

"Me? Be like Percy Weasley? Ha! Thanks for your concern, George, but trust me, I would never be like Percy if I could help it." She nearly shivered at the thought. If there was one person she could hardly stand, it was Percy Weasley. Of course, she used to look up to him for his intelligence and the fact that he was such a good student. Then he turned into an insufferable, jealous, know-it-all jerk, whom thought that he was always in charge. "So, I should go now before I'm late," Jessica said. If she didn't go quickly, she would almost definitely be late.

"Okay," said George. "Come and see me before term starts, hear me?"

"All right, I'll be back later anyways, you know I live to come here."

"See you later, Jess." George hugged her and she was off again, running through the crowd, just a bit more careful as to where she was going.

Soon Jessica was stepping into the dark entryway of the Leaky Cauldron, trying to catch her breath from running. Looking around, she spotted her parents sitting at a table reading the Daily Prophet. She walked over to them and took a seat. Peeking into her parents' mugs she saw that her mother was having tea and her father was having coffee. Jessica scrunched her face into a look of disgust and called the waitress over to order a mug of bitter brew. It was a type of pumpkin juice fused with butter beer that equaled a very interesting taste.

"Ah, thank you very much," Jessica said as the waitress brought her cup of bitter brew. She smiled as she took her first sip and warmth coursed through her body.

A bell clanged at the front of the pub, causing Jessica to look up from her mug. Professor McGonagall was striding towards her, her face seemingly cemented in it's stern look.

"Hello, Professor," Jessica greeted her as she reached their table. Her parents also stood and shook hands with the teacher. Professor McGonagall ordered a cup of tea and then looked at the three of them, her face still in it's stony expression.

After a few moments of small talk, Jessica's father spoke, "So sorry to be direct, Minerva, but what's this all about anyways?"

Professor McGonagall closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "I have come to you with grave news. It is very hard for me to say this to one of my best and brightest students, no doubt. But what I have come here to tell you is not going to be the best of news." She paused and looked at Jessica's confused face.

"Miss Firehart, you are being held back to sixth year."

"What?" Jessica said loudly, clearly shocked.

"I am sorry to say that you will be repeating your sixth year, due to your missing the end-of-year exams. I know that this is very hard for you to take, but-"

"I can't just simply re-take them?"

"No, I'm afraid not. It is an ancient Hogwarts rule that Professor Dumbledore doesn't want broken."

"You can't just simply bend the rules, just this once?" Jessica pressed McGonagall.

"No, i-"

"And the reason that I missed my exams doesn't even help me?"

"I'm sorry, but-"

"The fact that I missed them because I was thrown into a depression because half of my family and loved ones were killed, doesn't even factor into these "ancient rules?" Jessica went on hotly, her voice growing louder and firmer each time she spoke.

"Well-No, I-Eh," Professor McGonagall sputtered, looking for words.

"And even though my life was nearly ruined, we just had to go and find something to screw it up even more; just as it was getting back to normal!" Jessica said more to herself than to the others.

"Jessie, sweety, please, just sit down," her mother said calmly. It was only then that Jessica realized that she had stood up in her rage, and was now attracting the attention of many of the customers in the pub. Reluctantly, she sat down.

"Now, Miss Firehart, I know that this is very hard for you to accept. Especially after the great tragedy that you recently suffered. But it is not avoidable, and it will not change. You must accept it."

"So," said Jessica, calming down slightly, "I have to retake all of my classes from last year over again?"

"Yes."

"Will I stay in the same dormitory?"

"No. You will be moving in with the sixth year girls, Hermione, Pavarti, and Lavender."

"Will I still be a prefect?"

"Yes."

"But I won't be Head Girl?"

"Correct."

Tears brimmed in Jessica's eyes. Now that she wasn't a seventh year, there was no way that she would become Head Girl, even next year. It was obvious who would get Head in that year-Hermione Granger. It was undeniable.

There were a few moments of silence. Jessica couldn't really be mad at McGonagall, it wasn't her fault really.

Professor McGonagall's face had softened and she was looking at Jessica with a sorry expression on her face. "I really am sorry, Jessica, you know that," she said truthfully. "I have to leave now, if you have any other questions in regards to... this matter, just send me an owl and I will reply as soon as I can." McGonagall stood with a slight smile on her face and began to turn around.

"Professor, wait," Jessica called in a small voice. Tears were now streaming freely down her face.

Professor McGonagall turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"I-I just wanted to know," Jessica said in the same small voice, "Would I have gotten Head Girl?"

"Until quite recently," said McGonagall slowly, "That was the plan."

Jessica let out a choked sob as her professor exited the building. She would have been Head Girl. Jessica could've never been happier to hear that, if it weren't for the fact that it wasn't going to happen.

"A-are you okay, dear?" asked her father tensely.

"Yes, dad, I-I'm fine," she lied. "I just... I just need a moment to let it soak in. Do you mind if I go for a walk and just use the floo to get home?"

"Go ahead, sweetie," her mother consented.

Jessica stood and walked out into the small courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron. She drew up the hood of her cloak before tapping the brick wall to gain entrance to the long alleyway behind it.

What stood before her was a colorful street full of wondrous things and crowded with people. But before her eyes, it was simply a dingy lane full of babbling old fools.

Lowering her head, so as not to be seen, she set off once again through the crowd of people. She suddenly bumped shoulders with someone quite hard, but didn't stop to appologize. "Hey, watch where you're going!" he shouted angrily after her.

Jessica didn't care if she bumped into anyone at this point. All she wanted to do was get away to a nice, quiet, desolate place and be alone. But when she found herself in front of Fred and George Weasley's shop once more, she figured out that what she needed now wasn't lonliness, it was companionship. Slowly, Jessica pushed open the door and a small bell rang.

"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," came a voice from behind the counter that Jessica recognized as George's. "One moment and I'll be there to help you." A moment later, George came hurrying over to her. "'Ello, miss. How may I be helping you today?" Jessica slowly lowered the hood. "Jessie! How did the meeting go, miss Head Girl?" His face fell when he saw hers. "Jess, what-" But before he could finish, Jessica collapsed, sobbing, onto his chest.


	10. Dinner, Discussion, and Desert

Hiya, everybody! I'm back! I know you all probably hate me for not updating, but guess what, I do too! So, no hard feelings there! -Go to my lookup for full details on this matter.- I'm gettin this back and runnin' as fast as I can, so keep checking for updates! By the way, many thanks to popsickle- it's because of you that I _finally_ got motivated to finish these. I've been telling myself that I need to, but it took your review to give me that final shove! Much love goes to you and everyone else that's reviewed this fic!

Chapter 9: Dinner, Discussion, and Desert

"What do you think of this?"

"What is it?" asked Hermione as Ron examined a long metal object in Fred and George's shop. It was much like the one the twins had purchased the year before on a Hogsmeade trip; long and silver with pincers. It did look quite lethal.

"It says that it's used to get to hard to reach places," replied Ron as he waved it in front of her face, grasping the handle and causing the pincers to flex in front of her face.

"Ron," Hermione said sternly, "Get that away from my face before you poke my eye out."

Ron sighed annoyed. So rather than stick the device into Hermione's face, he decided to examine it up close.

"Just because you can't jab my eye out with that thing doesn't mean that you can jab your eye out with it," Hermione said irritably, rolling her eyes. "Now put it down before I take it away from you."

Ron grumbled, "You aren't any fun," but put the thing down anyways. "You know what you are? You're a-"

"Yes, yes, I'm an evil fun-sucker whom sucks the fun out of everything good in life, I know. You already told me that twice today," Hermione interrupted him to finish his sentence.

"See? You even took the fun out of that!"

Hermione sighed. "Whatever. Are you ready to go? I'm getting tired."

"All right. Let me say good-bye to the guys."

After having a quick visit with Fred and George, they exited the shop. Walking down the street toward the floo entrances, a woman in a cloak bumped into Ron and nearly knocked him over. When she didn't say sorry, he yelled after her, "Hey, watch where you're going!" But she just ignored him.

"I hate people like that," Ron muttered. "They think they can walk wherever they want and do whatever they want without having to apologize. I mean how hard is it to simply say, "Excuse me?""

They soon reached the transport station and stepped into the hearth, Ron first. Hermione arrived back at the Burrow a few moments after Ron.

"How was your day, kids?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She was standing at the sink pealing potatoes.

"Good. We ran into a friend from school and chatted for a while."

"Oh, good. And you've returned just in time for dinner!"

"Wonderful," said Ron with a grin, rubbing his hands together.

Hermione rolled her eyes. How could he even be thinking about eating right now? They had just had lunch a little while ago. Then she remembered that Ron was a boy, and that his stomach was a bottomless pit.

"I'm just going to go upstairs and wash up before dinner, then," said Hermione. She began walking up the stairs and soon reached her room. Merlin, was she tired. Rather than wash up like she said she was going to, Hermione jumped onto her bed and stretched out. She would only take a little rest, then she would get up and go down for supper. But as Hermione sat telling herself she would only lie down for a minute, she slowly started to drift off. Soon, Hermione was fast asleep.

"Hermione," Ron said, opening the door to her room, "It's time for-" He stopped when he saw her. She was sleeping peacefully, sprawled out on her bed. Guess she wasn't kidding when she said that she was getting tired. Debating for a moment what to do, Ron decided it was best if he let her be. Before returning downstairs though, he took the comforter that was folded neatly at the end of the bed and covered Hermione with it. He gave a small smile and left, closing the door.

Hermione woke with a start. She had just had a horrible dream where she was being chased by a blast-ended screwt. She was running wildly around Ron's front yard, screaming like a banshee, while Ron and the rest of the Weasleys stood and watched her, laughing. It was one of the weirdest dreams she had ever had.

Shaking the dream out of her head, she realized that she had obviously been sleeping for more than a few minutes. The sky outside was no longer bright and sunny, but a dark midnight blue, speckled with stars. Hermione checked her watch and groaned. It was already ten o'clock. She had been asleep for about four hours. Her stomach gave a loud rumble, announcing that it was hungry now.

Slowly, Hermione pushed the comforter down, and subconsciously wondered who it was that had covered her up with it. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Her legs and arms felt sore, so she figured that she must've slept on them in a weird position. Hermione stretched and walked downstairs

Looking in at the family room, she found that it was unoccupied. Everyone must have already gone to bed because the house was dead quiet.

Hermione entered the kitchen quietly, not wanting to wake anyone. She tiptoed over to the cupboards, when she was startled by a voice that came from behind her.

"Your dinner is on the draining board."

Hermione turned to see Ron sitting at the table. He was eating a piece of what seemed to be cake. "Jesus, Ron. You nearly scared the magic out of me!"

"Lord, I hope I didn't. That would ruin your reputation. First a muggle, then you become a squib. They'd have to kick you out of Hogwarts."

Hermione laughed. "You know very well what I meant by that."

Ron grinned. "So I see you've finally decided to wake up?" he teased as she sat down across from him with her plate of food.

"Yes. My stomach demanded that I eat," she joked.

"Well, you missed quite an ordeal tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Fred announced that he's engaged."

"What?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"Yeah. To Angelina Johnson."

"No way."

"Yes way. According to him, they've been an item for a while now. About since our fourth year."

"Wow," said Hermione, amazed. This was quite a shock. Out of all of the kids the Weasley's had, she had expected Fred and George to get married last. It was strange to think that Fred would now probably be first.

"When are they getting married?"

"They're not sure yet. They don't know if they really want to right now because they're only eighteen."

This was very hard to take in. Hermione had never thought of Fred being married. She really couldn't imagine it.

"What does your mother think of it?"

"Well, she's a bit like you are-Really startled. But she's just so happy that one of her children is finally getting married that she's already started planning the wedding."

Ron and Hermione laughed at this. It really was the sort of thing that Mrs. Weasley would do. She finished her dinner, put the dish in the sink and sat back down.

"Oh," said Hermione in sudden realization, "Is that why you've got cake?" She pointed to the frosting covered desert in front of him.

"Yep. Mum made it as soon as the lovebirds announced it."

Hermione frowned, slightly disappointed. She had missed Mrs. Weasley's cake. Having had it once or twice before, she knew that it was delicious.

"Here," Ron said, almost as if reading her mind, "We can share. I got too big of a piece anyways." He pushed his plate toward her so that it was in the middle of the two of them. Ron also got up and handed her a fork before he sat back down.

"Mmmm," Hermione nearly groaned with delight as she took her first bite of the cake. It was so good that she closed her eyes and savored the taste.

"I take it that you like it," Ron asked, a small smile on his face, his eyebrows raised. He laughed lightly.

"Shush up Ron," she laughed back.

They spent a long time sitting down at the kitchen table, talking, laughing, and joking around.

Somehow, the topic of the night at the Ministry came up.

"I still get pains sometimes, in my chest where that Death-Eater hit me with the curse," Hermione said, her hand unconsciously raising to where she had been hit.

Ron had an understanding expression on his face. "I've got scars from where the tentacles from those damn brain things were clinging on to me."

"Really?" Hermione asked. Ron rolled up his sleeve to show her the marks across his arms. "Wow." Hermione leaned over the table to get a better look at them.

Suddenly, Hermione realized just how painfully close to Ron she was. She was so close that if she wanted to, she could've wrapped her arms around him. Ron seemed to notice this too. They both looked at each other nervously, wondering what to do.

Finally, Hermione said, "But you have to admit that it was funny watching that thing attack you." She sniggered and grinned. Next thing she knew, the little bit of cake that had been left on the table was now smeared on her face. Obviously Ron hadn't appreciated her saying that.

Wiping the cake out of her eyes with her sleeve, Hermione looked at Ron. He had a broad grin on his face. "But you have to admit that it was even funnier getting to see that," he jeered.

Ron thought for a moment that Hermione was about to punch him, but was wrong when she burst out laughing. The two of them sat there for at least five minutes laughing before they could stop. They finally decided to go up to bed, since it was now well past midnight. They stood by the table as they said their goodnights; Hermione was going up to bed while Ron was getting ready to lock up.

"G'night, Hermione," said Ron, smiling. He clearly thought that he was going to get away with what he had done.

"Trust me, Ronald Weasley, you aren't getting away with what you did to me tonight. I'm going to make you suffer a horrific revenge," Hermione threatened with a playful smirk.

"Oh yeah?" Ron joked back. "How's that?"

"Like this."

Hermione didn't know what made her do it. But she somehow found herself standing on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around Ron's neck to kiss him, full on the lips. Ron's eyes widened as Hermione did this, but since they were both getting into it, he closed them.

Hermione suddenly pulled back from Ron, whom was looking dazed and confused, yet very happy. She seemed flustered, but also very happy none-the-less.

When Ron finally discerned what had just happened, he said to Hermione, "Yeah... I think I need you to get back at me a bit more before I've learned my lesson."

Hermione chuckled slightly before leaning up and kissing Ron again.


End file.
